UCLA coach Ben Howland has developed some pretty thick skin in his 19 years as a head coach. He’s way more wily old fox than spring chicken.

The Bruins are headed to their seventh NCAA Tournament in his 10 years in Westwood. Despite guiding the Bruins to three consecutive Final Fours earlier in his tenure, his critics have become more and more vocal in recent years.

UCLA legend Bill Walton has on numerous occasions this season used an ESPN broadcast to call for Howland’s firing. Howland, 55, says it’s not any sort of battle of personalities between him and Walton; it’s a matter of coaching style.

"I've just kind of -- and this is the way you have to be in this job -- removed myself or divorced myself from worrying about that," Howland told CBS Sports this week. "I just try to control what I can control. I try to be honest. I try to take the high road. That's all I can do. I'm trying to control what I can control. I can't control Bill Walton. (Walton) has been to my house; he's had drinks at my house. ... But I just think it's like anything else. It gets tough when you're at a place 10 years, and I've been here 10 years. So it's 'Win a national championship! We got two of them! We were 60-0!' That's Bill Walton's point of reference. ... So even when we're having a great year, it's just a good year by UCLA standards."

UCLA is 22-7 and tied for first place in the Pac-12 and will close out the regular season at Washington State and Washington. With All-American candidate Shabazz Muhammad, the Bruins seem poised for a deep NCAA Tournament run. Even though he is certain to leave for the NBA, the Bruins will have a loaded roster next year built around Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams.

Howland, who has won 68.8 percent of his games at UCLA, expects to be back on the bench next fall, much to Walton’s dismay.

"I've learned from mistakes. I think we're headed in the right direction," Howland told CBS. "I just love UCLA, and look around. This is priceless and it's where I've always wanted to be. I'm from here. This is my home."